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Straits of Power

Author : Joe Buff

Publisher : Harper Collins

Page : 447 pages

File Size : 35,74 MB

Release : 2011-05-17

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 0062103261

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Book Description

In his latest mission, Commander Jeffrey Fuller will go head–to–head against his most dangerous adversary yet – his own allies. Jeffrey Fuller has a new mission – use his cutting–edge submarine Challenger to recover a German spy claiming to have key information about the Berlin–Boer Axis, information that could be crucial to winning the war. Fuller will have to navigate his super–silent sub through some of the most densely patrolled waters in Europe if he hopes to accomplish his mission. But Fuller knows he can't trust the spy, code–named Zeno, an expert in electronic and information warfare. The man could be a double agent sent by the enemy to compromise Challenger. And when they finally recover the mysterious spy, he reveals that only by helping him infiltrate Israel can he hope to prevent an imminent Axis attack. Fuller is caught in a terrible dilemma – if the man is a double agent, he could be dooming Israel, but if he does nothing, the country could fall to the German assault. To go ahead with the plan would pitch Fuller against the best defences of his own allies, placing his crew in danger and possibly shattering bonds between nations. It is a battle that, if fought, Fuller will have to fight entirely on his own.



The Portuguese and the Straits of Melaka, 1575-1619

Author : Paulo Jorge De Sousa Pinto

Publisher : NUS Press

Page : 415 pages

File Size : 34,71 MB

Release : 2012-03-01

Category : History

ISBN : 9971695707

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Book Description

Following the fall of the Melaka Sultanate to the Portuguese in 1511, the sultanates of Johor and Aceh emerged as major trading centers alongside Portuguese Melaka. Each power represented wider global interests. Aceh had links with Gujerat, the Ottoman Empire and the Levant. Johor was a center for Javanese merchants and others involved with the Eastern spice trade. Melaka was part of the Estado da India, Portugal's trading empire that extended from Japan to Mozambique. Throughout the sixteenth century, a peculiar balance among the three powers became an important character of the political and economical life in the Straits of Melaka. The arrival of the Dutch in the early seventeenth century upset the balance and led to the decline of Portuguese Melaka. Making extensive use of contemporary Portuguese sources, Paulo Pinto uses geopolitical approach to analyze the financial, political, economic and military institutions that underlay this triangular arrangement, a system that persisted because no one power could achieve an undisputed hegemony. He also considers the position of post-conquest Melaka in the Malay World, where it remained a symbolic center of Malay civilization and a model of Malay political authority despite changes associated with Portuguese rule. In the process provides information on the social, political and genealogical circumstances of the Johor and Aceh sultanates.



Strait Talk

Author : Nancy Bernkopf Tucker

Publisher : Harvard University Press

Page : 409 pages

File Size : 42,22 MB

Release : 2011-03-18

Category : History

ISBN : 0674060520

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Book Description

Relations among the United States, Taiwan, and China challenge policymakers, international relations specialists, and a concerned public to examine their assumptions about security, sovereignty, and peace. Only a Taiwan Straits conflict could plunge Americans into war with a nuclear-armed great power. In a timely and deeply informed book, Nancy Bernkopf Tucker traces the thorny relationship between the United States and Taiwan as both watch ChinaÕs power grow. Although TaiwanÐU.S. security has been intertwined since the 1950s, neither Taipei nor Washington ever fully embraced the other. Differences in priorities and perspectives repeatedly raised questions about the wisdom of the alignment. Tucker discusses the nature of U.S. commitments to Taiwan; the intricacies of policy decisions; the intentions of critical actors; the impact of TaiwanÕs democratization; the role of lobbying; and the accelerating difficulty of balancing Taiwan against China. In particular, she examines the destructive mistrust that undermines U.S. cooperation with Taiwan, stymieing efforts to resolve cross-Strait tensions. Strait Talk offers valuable historical context for understanding U.S.ÐTaiwan ties and is essential reading for anyone interested in international relations and security issues today.



Crush Depth

Author : Joe Buff

Publisher : Harper Collins

Page : 516 pages

File Size : 34,18 MB

Release : 2009-10-13

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 0061747874

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Book Description

World War III rages on . . . “The duel between submarines and captains should keep readers flipping pages, especially if they love undersea action.” —Booklist The Axis and Allied powers are recovering from a violent encounter between a German nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine and the USS Challenger, commanded by Captain Jeffrey Fuller. But the war has only begun . . . Reactionary enemy regimes have brutally taken command in South Africa and Germany. U.S. and European shipping lanes are suddenly under attack. World War is at hand—and for the ruthless Berlin–Boer Axis, the devastating weapons of choice will be tactical nukes used at sea. The Voortrekker, a deep-diving state-of-the-art German submarine, is on the prowl, carrying more onboard firepower than many of the world’s nations possess—and the crippled sub USS Challenger is the only weapon in America’s arsenal that can match up with the silent killer. But the nation’s last hope is in dry dock—and Captain Jeffrey Fuller, Challenger’s brilliant, driven skipper, must get his damaged boat back in action weeks before it is battle-ready. Fuller has faced Voortrekker in the past and, unlike so many others, he survived. This time, however, the fight will take place in waters far too deep for a normal sub to withstand. And this time the prize will be America. Praise for the Jeffrey Fuller series “The crème de la crème of submarine thrillers.” —Stephen Coonts, New York Times–bestselling author “If you want a hair-raising trip to the bottom of the ocean, Joe Buff’s the guy to take you there.” —Patrick Robinson, New York Times–bestselling author “[Joe Buff] out-Clancys Tom Clancy.” —Kirkus Reviews



Straits

Author : Felipe Fernandez-Armesto

Publisher : Univ of California Press

Page : 379 pages

File Size : 13,26 MB

Release : 2022-03-29

Category : History

ISBN : 0520383370

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Book Description

An uncompromising study of the fictions, the failures, and the real man behind the myth of Magellan. With Straits, celebrated historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto subjects the surviving sources to the most meticulous scrutiny ever, providing a timely and engrossing biography of the real Ferdinand Magellan. The truth that Fernández-Armesto uncovers about Magellan’s life, his character, and the events of his ill-fated voyage offers up a stranger, darker, and even more compelling narrative than the fictional version that has been celebrated for half a millennium. Magellan did not attempt—much less accomplish—a journey around the globe. In his lifetime he was abhorred as a traitor, reviled as a tyrant, self-condemned to destruction, and dismissed as a failure. Straits untangles the myths that made Magellan a hero and discloses the reality of the man, probing the passions and tensions that drove him to adventure and drew him to disaster. We see the mutations of his character: pride that became arrogance, daring that became recklessness, determination that became ruthlessness, romanticism that became irresponsibility, and superficial piety that became, in adversity, irrational exaltation. As the real Magellan emerges, so do his real ambitions, focused less on circumnavigating the world or cornering the global spice market than on exploiting Filipino gold. Straits is a study in failure and the paradox of Magellan’s career, showing that renown is not always a reflection of merit but often a gift and accident of circumstance.



Straits of Power

Author : Joe Buff

Publisher : Harper Collins

Page : 528 pages

File Size : 23,34 MB

Release : 2011-05-17

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 0062103261

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Book Description

In his latest mission, Commander Jeffrey Fuller will go head–to–head against his most dangerous adversary yet – his own allies. Jeffrey Fuller has a new mission – use his cutting–edge submarine Challenger to recover a German spy claiming to have key information about the Berlin–Boer Axis, information that could be crucial to winning the war. Fuller will have to navigate his super–silent sub through some of the most densely patrolled waters in Europe if he hopes to accomplish his mission. But Fuller knows he can't trust the spy, code–named Zeno, an expert in electronic and information warfare. The man could be a double agent sent by the enemy to compromise Challenger. And when they finally recover the mysterious spy, he reveals that only by helping him infiltrate Israel can he hope to prevent an imminent Axis attack. Fuller is caught in a terrible dilemma – if the man is a double agent, he could be dooming Israel, but if he does nothing, the country could fall to the German assault. To go ahead with the plan would pitch Fuller against the best defences of his own allies, placing his crew in danger and possibly shattering bonds between nations. It is a battle that, if fought, Fuller will have to fight entirely on his own.



Southeast Asia and the Rise of Chinese and Indian Naval Power

Author : Sam Bateman

Publisher : Routledge

Page : 272 pages

File Size : 45,67 MB

Release : 2014-06-03

Category : History

ISBN : 1135147264

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Book Description

This book examines the emerging maritime security scene in Southeast Asia. It considers highly topical implications for the region of possible strategic competition between China and India - the rising naval powers of Asia - with a possible naval "arms race" emerging between these countries both with naval force development and operations. As part of its "Look East" policy, India has deployed naval units to the Pacific Ocean for port visits and exercises both with East Asian navies and the US Navy, but India is also concerned about the possibility of the Chinese Navy operating in the Indian Ocean. Even as the US-India defence relationship continues to deepen, the US and China are struggling to build a closer links. China’s and India’s strategic interests overlap in this region both in maritime strategic competition or conflict – which might be played out in the Bay of Bengal, the Malacca and Singapore Straits and the South China Sea. The sea lines of communication (SLOCs) through Southeast Asian waters constitute vital "choke points" between the Indian and Pacific Oceans carrying essential energy supplies for China and other Northeast Asian countries. Any strategic competition between China and India has implications for other major maritime players in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, especially Australia, the Republic of Korea and Japan, as well as the US. This book identifies possible cooperative and confidence-building measures that may contribute to enhanced relations between these two major powers and dampen down the risks associated with their strategic competition.



Maritime Power and the Law of the Sea

Author : James Kraska

Publisher :

Page : 485 pages

File Size : 13,37 MB

Release : 2011

Category : Law

ISBN : 0199773386

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Book Description

In Maritime Power and the Law of the Sea: Expeditionary Operations in World Politics, Commander James Kraska analyzes the evolving rules governing freedom of the seas and their impact on expeditionary operations in the littoral, near-shore coastal zone. Coastal state practice and international law are developing in ways that restrict naval access to the littorals and associated coastal communities and inshore regions that have become the fulcrum of world geopolitics. Consequently, the ability of naval forces to project expeditionary power throughout semi-enclosed seas, exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and along the important sea-shore interface is diminishing and, as a result, limiting strategic access and freedom of action where it is most needed. Commander Kraska describes how control of the global commons, coupled with new approaches to sea power and expeditionary force projection, has given the United States and its allies the ability to assert overwhelming sea power to nearly any area of the globe. But as the law of the sea gravitates away from a classic liberal order of the oceans, naval forces are finding it more challenging to accomplish the spectrum of maritime missions in the coastal littorals, including forward presence, power projection, deterrence, humanitarian assistance and sea control. The developing legal order of the oceans fuses diplomacy, strategy and international law to directly challenge unimpeded access to coastal areas, with profound implications for American grand strategy and world politics.



Deadly Straits (For Tom Clancy and W. E. B. Griffin Fans)

Author : R. E. McDermott

Publisher : R.E. McDermott

Page : 414 pages

File Size : 38,3 MB

Release : 2011-06-21

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 9780983741701

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Book Description

In the tradition of Clancy, Griffin, and Cussler, newcomer R.E. McDermott delivers a thriller to rival the masters.When consultant and very part-time spook Tom Dugan finds himself becoming collateral damage in the War on Terror, he's not about to take it lying down. Falsely implicated in a hijacking, he's offered a chance to clear his own name by helping the CIA hook what they consider to be the bigger fish, Dugan's long-time friend, London ship owner Alex Kairouz. Reluctantly, Dugan agrees to go undercover in Alex's company, despite doubts about his friend's guilt. Once undercover, Dugan's steadfast refusal to accept Alex's guilt puts him at odds with both his CIA handlers and a beautiful British agent with whom he's working.When a tanker is found adrift near Singapore with a dead crew, and another explodes in port as Alex lies near death after a suspicious suicide attempt, Dugan is framed for the attacks. Out of options, and convinced the attacks are prelude to an even more devastating assault, Dugan eludes capture to follow his last lead to Russia, only to be shanghaied as an 'advisor' to a Russian Spetsnaz unit on a near-suicidal mission.Deadly Straits is a non-stop thrill ride, transporting the reader from London offices, to the dry docks of Singapore, to the decks of the tankers that slake the world's thirst for oil, with stopovers in Panama, Langley, Virginia, and Teheran. Richly spiced with detail from the author's thirty years sailing, building, and repairing ships around the globe, it is, in the words of one reviewer, "fast-paced, multi-layered and gripping."READER COMMENTS"An awesome book! It has a very Tom Clancy feel. Kudos to Mr. McDermott. Well done, Sir."D. Bosshardt, Amazon - 5 Stars"An absolute cracker of a thriller, quite simply on a par with Clancy et al. When I'd finished I wanted more! A terrific story superbly written. 'Tao", Amazon (UK) - 5 Stars"A little Clancy, a bit of Ludlum, and a lot of Mr. McDermott!"Libby Dunkin, Amazon - 5 Stars"Move over WEB Griffin, Cussler, & Ludlum. Weaving together come-alive characters, McDermott takes us through an all too realistic plot involving oil tankers used to cause havoc to the worlds' shipping … a page turner."Bob Hopfe, Amazon - 5 Stars"International intrigue in expert hands. With breathless pacing and punchy prose, McDermott knots a plot so real it might well be breaking news. Deadly Straits ravages like a cat 5 hurricane: unpredictable, merciless, and fierce.L.C. Fiore, author, Green Gospel "A brilliant thriller. I was quite surprised that this is a first novel. On par with high ranking thrillers. Action non-stop …a great read."Cheryl M-M, Amazon (UK) - 5 Stars"In 1994 Tom Clancy's "Debt of Honor" used a jumbo jet as a suicide missile … it happened for real on 9/11. In 2011 R.E. McDermott published "Deadly Straits" where supertankers are used as terror weapons with deadly results. Let's hope we don't look back and say McDermott predicted that. This is a book of action and suspense, well written with multiple plots woven into one coherent whole. I've read several best-sellers that are legends in the genre and this book is as well done as any of them, if not better." Stephen C. Lovely, Amazon - 5 Stars"Expert plotting … the sheer excitement of the story kept me reading until I finished in two nights. I look forward to the next work by Mr. McDermott."James E. Daman, Amazon - 5 Stars"In a book that takes no prisoners, McDermott tells a tale of high seas terrorism and tells it well. Go get this one, right now!"Nancy, Cheryl's Book Nook - 5 Stars



American Sea Power in the Old World

Author : William N Still

Publisher : Naval Institute Press

Page : 304 pages

File Size : 46,67 MB

Release : 2018-02-15

Category : History

ISBN : 1682473112

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Book Description

This classic study examines the deployment of U.S. naval vessels in European and Near Eastern waters from the end of the Civil War until the United States declared war in April 1917. Initially these ships were employed to visit various ports from the Baltic Sea to the eastern Mediterranean and Constantinople (today Istanbul), for the primary purpose of showing the flag. From the 1890s on, most of the need for the presence of the American warships occurred in the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Unrest in the Ottoman Empire and particularly the Muslim hostility and threats to Armenians led to calls for protection. This would continue into the years of World War I. In 1905, the Navy Department ended the permanent stationing of a squadron in European waters. From then until the U.S. declaration of war in 1917, individual ships, detached units, and special squadrons were at times deployed in European waters. In 1908, the converted yacht Scorpion was sent as station ship (stationnaire) to Constantinople where she would remain, operating in the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea until 1928. Upon the outbreak of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson ordered cruisers to northern European waters and the Mediterranean to protect American interests. These warships, however, did more than protect American interests. They would evacuate thousands of refugees, American tourists, Armenians, Jews, and Italians after Italy entered the conflict on the side of the Allies.